A middle-aged female paedo pretended to be a 15-year-old girl to abuse a young schoolboy. Marie Dent, 44, used a fake profile on Facebook with a false name and a photograph of a child to get close to the lad.

She even met the 15-year-old boy’s mum after taking him on a “date” to the beach — and bought her chocolates and wore her hair over her face to try to hide her age.

Chelmsford Crown Court heard depressed Dent created a fake social media account before contacting the 15-year-old boy and later meeting him to engage in sexual activity in Clacton, Essex.

Judge Emma Peters said: “You were looking to find solace but in entirely the wrong place.

“When people have such difficulties they don’t look to children to give them solace they look to friends or appropriate agencies.

“Therefore whatever you went down this way, the fact you did is quite clearly criminal and deserving of punishment.”

Dent, who is herself a mum, met up with the boy on two occasions late last year, insisting each time that she was also 15. Read more